Civil action

How to sue a German Hospital or Physician for Medical Malpractice If you believe that you or a loved one suffered an injury caused by medical negligence (medical mistakes) in Germany, the first step is to stay calm -- as difficult as that may be -- and to try and collect as much factual information as possible without immediately declaring all out war on the medical staff or the hospital. Why? Because once you openly…

This Chart explains Jurisdiction and Venue in German Civil and Commercial Court Cases. More information on litigation and legal fees in Germany is available on our expert law blog www.GERMANCIVILPROCEDURE.com The law firm Graf & Partners was established in 2003 and has many years of experience with British-German and US-German legal matters.The Anglo-German litigation lawyer team of GP Chambers is well equipped to advise and represent clients from the UK and other English speaking countries.…

What are the Duties of Directors of German Companies (GmbH) and Corporations (Aktiengesellschaft)? Obviously, pretty much all over the world, company directors and CEO’s have a general duty to be loyal, diligent and conscientious in managing the affairs of their company. This is also the case under German law. Directors and CEOs have to bear in mind what is best for the business and act accordingly. In this regard, German courts do apply an objective…

The German Habit of sending out Cease and Desist Letters to Competitors When you start trading in Germany you may be in for unpleasant surprises. The first letter your German subsidiary receives may likely be a formal cease and desist notice sent by your competitor's lawyers. Why? Because under German unfair competition laws, every business has the right to formally demand competitors to fully comply with any and all German laws. And there are many…

Then you should use this opportunity to obtain a so called "abstraktes Schuldanerkenntnis" (an autonomous acknowledgement of debt) from your German debtor. This is sometimes also called "selbstständiges Schuldanerkenntnis" or "Schuldversprechen". In other words: You agree to grant the debtor a moratorium (or a deferred payment) of a few weeks or months, but only under the condition that the debtor signs a Schuldanerkenntnis (a formal "I owe you"). Such a written debt acknowledgment according to…

By German Litigation Expert Bernhard H. Schmeilzl, LL.M. (Leicester), admitted to the Munich Bar and qualified to represent clients in Courts of Law throughout Germany Court fees (Gerichtskosten) in Germany are based on the value of the claim (Streitwert or Gegenstandswert). The same is true for lawyers fees (Anwaltsgebühren) which are regulated by statutory law, the so called Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz (RVG). We explain the details of German civil litigation procedure including litigation costs in our expert…

You need to understand German company accounts for a German lawsuit? In order to win a business or corporate law suit, understanding the numbers is often equally important as knowing the legal aspects of the case. The same is true if you plan to acquire a German business. Thus, the German-British litigation lawyers as well as the M&A experts at Graf & Partners (www.grafegal.com) regularly team up with German forensic accountant Hermann Werle. Hermann obtained…

You found the German law firm perfectly equipped to address your legal needs in Germany Since 2003, German law firm Graf & Partners specialises in providing legal advice and litigation services to British and American clients. Our international litigation lawyers run the leading expert law blog on German civil litigation rules in English language: www.GermanCivilProcedure.com The majority of our clients come from Britain, the USA or other English speaking countries and are in need of pursuing…

Be careful when suing a German Kommanditgesellschaft (KG), an Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG) or a Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (GBR) The single most common mistake foreign claimants and their non-German litigation lawyers make when taking a German business to court is that they only sue the partnership itself and not the personally liable partners (persönlich haftende Gesellschafter). To avoid any misunderstanding: This post deals with German partnerships (Personengesellschaften) as debtors, not with German limited liability companies (GmbH)…

Has your German debtor moved to the UK and declared himself or herself bankrupt under the UK / British insolvency rules? Since we specialise in British-German legal matters, our firm very often gets enquiries from German individuals, companies or banks regarding a situation whereby a German individual has moved to the United Kingdom and declared bankruptcy in order to avoid paying their debts and liabilities back in Germany. Even further, it is quite common that…